Canadian man sentenced to time served on gun charges

BANGOR, Maine — A Canadian man was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to time served, amounting to nearly 16 months in prison, on gun charges.

Jeremy Gertsch, 35, of Oka, Quebec, was extradited to Maine last year after being arrested on Oct. 5, 2011, in Canada, according to the U.S. attorney’s office that prosecuted the case. He had been held without bail since then.

In addition to prison time, U.S. District Judge John Woodcock sentenced Gertsch to three years of supervised release for making false statements in connection with the purchase of firearms. The judge also ordered the defendant to return to Canada and not re-enter the United States without permission from the U.S. Probation Office.

Between Jan. 26 and Jan. 28, 2011, Gertsch purchased eight handguns from four firearms dealers in the Augusta/Waterville area, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. Six of the handguns were semi-automatic.

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None of them have been recovered.

Gertsch was indicted in September 2011 by a federal grand jury on four counts of making a false statement in the acquisition of a firearm. He was arrested in Canada the following month. Details about his arrest were not included in court documents. Gertsch pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 7, 2012.

By pleading guilty, Gertsch admitted that between Jan. 26 and 28, 2011, he lied about his address and where he was born at two gun shops in Winslow, another in Waterville and a fourth in Farmingdale, according to the indictment.

At all four locations, Gertsch gave a Water Street address at an Augusta motel when he actually lived in Philomene, Oka, Quebec, according to the indictment.

He also said he was born in Buffalo, N.Y., on the application to purchase the firearms. Gertsch was born in Lachute, Argenteuil, Quebec, the indictment said.

Gertsch faced up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the prevailing federal sentencing guidelines, he faced between 12 and 18 months in prison.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.